San Bernardino County is better off not leaving California. In fact, the County generally gets its fair share of state and federal resources, despite some hurdles with some services, according to a recently released independent report.
Voters in 2022 supported a ballot measure that required County officials to look at options for secession. Last year, the County Board of Supervisors hired Blue Sky Consulting Group to get answers on whether the County was receiving its fair share of state and federal dollars.
The county receives about $66 per person more than the average statewide. Blue Sky’s ‘Fair Share’ analysis also shows that the County is getting funding to support jails, school districts and law enforcement in the region.
Regarding secession, the report suggests that leaving California to become an independent state or join neighboring Arizona or Nevada may bring more drawbacks than advantages. Secession would require getting through some political hurdles, including receiving majority support from both the state legislature and congress.
“Though secession could generate some benefits for San Bernardino County…if accomplished, would likely result in a significant reduction in the level of government services currently enjoyed by County residents,” reads the report’s conclusion.
Blue Sky pointed out in their analysis that there is room for improvement in some service areas. The report does show that for mental health, housing and homelessness, and drinking water treatment, in particular, the County isn’t getting state money consistent with its needs.
For example, despite San Bernardino County having 2% of the state’s homeless population, it only receives about 1% of the state’s Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention program.
County Spokesperson David Wert said in a statement that the county “will use the data to advocate for additional resources as appropriate.”
Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Reyes (D-Colton), who represents areas of the County, believes the report demonstrates nothing new.
“After spending $200,000 of our taxpayers’ money, the Board of Supervisors now knows that what the Legislature told them was the truth,” Reyes shared in her own statement. “And our advice was free.”
Reyes added that addressing housing and homelessness will require collaboration.
Daniel McDonald, an economics associate professor at California State University San Bernardino, reviewed the report and deemed it objective and worth the nearly $200,000 cost.
He believes County leaders should create internal policies to improve their ability to govern and improve the lives of residents, rather than solely focusing on the amount of funding it receives from state and federal resources.
“Maybe we should be looking internally at policies and resources and figuring out more efficient or more effective ways of using the resources that we are given,” said MacDonald. “Perhaps this report is in some ways a wake up call to policymakers in the area.”
